I would like to join this group! I am in 2nd week of Atkins induction and so far feel pretty good. No hunger pangs, no carb cravings either, which is AMAZING! I am even eating fewer calories, avg around 1300-1500/day (without starving!) Down 5 lb. so ½ way to my first mini-goal.

First major goal already met – reduce my blood sugar levels. My 3 month average was over 16, sugar starting to show up in urine so my dr. referred me to specialist as he thought I have to go on insulin (yep, that was MY ‘a-ha’ moment) The appt with endocrinologist is for July 9. Happy to say I have an appt with my reg dr this Wednesday as he gave me add'l med to try and reduce my sugar levels and I had to stop taking it bcos it was making my bs level too LOW. My readings this past week are now almost normal – in the 6.0 range! I’m hoping he’ll tell me that we can cancel the specialist.

Goals this week:
1. Drink more water – I am only averaging about 30 oz/day, not enough for initiation into pcc!
2. Start walking – Hope I am very encouraged by you. I have FM too, along with chronic pain and it is a struggle every day to move esp. since I am working full-time. I start tomorrow, even if it’s only 15 minutes it’s more than I’m doing right now!
3. Get more sleep – I normally get a good 8 hrs but the past couple of weeks have been crazy and my avg is only about 6. Need to get back on track.
4. Post my ‘before’ pics – I did get them taken this weekend, but last couple of days have been very busy, promise to post tomorrow.

April, your pics are AMAZING. You go girl!

Mike, I looked at your pics 210.4 vs 174: what I found most impressive was not just weight loss, but the overall difference in your posture. INCREDIBLE!

I am very inspired by all of you and your ability to persevere and look forward to conversing!

Ah, sorry for my rant earlier. I was having an attack of feeling sorry for myself. Not a terrible day, all in all (goals-wise). I got out for a walk but I'm feeling really tired so I don't think I'll be doing much else. Otherwise, not bad. I decided to add goal #8 to try to keep myself from being too snacky.

Cate, welcome fellow low-carber! I was fortunate to catch my pre-diabetes (6.2 A1C average blood sugar) in time and fortunate to be able to reduce my blood sugar through diet and exercise alone. I have a wonderful doctor who also serves as my low carb dietitian. Now with normal blood sugar (5.6 A1C) I continue my lifestyle of a limit of 25 grams of net carbs per day: total grams of carbs less grams of fiber. My food list is a combination of Atkins and Carbohydrate Addicts LifeSpan Program. I'm so sorry that you have fibro like a few of our members have. My heart goes out to all of you. We have something else in common--I'm five foot nothing, too. Best wishes on your exercise--baby steps worked for me-- you can add more exercise as you and your doctor decide. Looking forward to getting to know you.

Nobe, aw, huge hugs to you! My DH never seemed to get it when I was sick either, so I understand where you're coming from. I hope you do manage to not deal with it by overeating. It'll just make you feel worse in the long run. Not that I haven't done it, but I regretted it.

Cassie, I hope you can get some good sleep soon!

April, maybe live-in GD's car will bring her and and her younger sister closer together. They're as different as night and day, so it was nice to see them share that first drive today. Kudos on your fresh veggies--laden with vitamins, low calorie, and they can add such variety to our menu.

I never did catch up with last week's thread. I haven't forgotten--just have been so busy with the end of the school year stuff.

If anyone asked me a question or said something to which you expected a reply, please bring it to my attention and I'll reply ASAP. Thanks for your understanding.

I misspoke before. I said my LDL (bad cholesterol) and high triglycerides have come down quite a bit through diet and fish oil capsules, but not enough, so doc are attempting further reduction without meds. I neglected to credit my exercise which also helps bring them down.

I haven't had a chance to read everything, but did want to say welcome back to Quinn and April, been missing you two. Also a warm 7Day Welcome to Cate!

Gonna make this quick tonight cause I'm tired. I know everyone probably expects me to have something witty to say to Mike, but I don't. I wish him well this week.

Mike, whatdya say you update your progress in blue, I'll do mine in something girly (cause I get more and more girly every day...dammit) like Magenta....deal? That way we can see the side by side progress.

Tori specific
1) find a new doctor--doing the phone thing on Wednesday
2) no smokes--check!
3) no frozen dinners (frozen lunch is okay if you are working)--all fresh today, thanks for asking4) list something that I am grateful every day!

OOHHH!! And shouldn't the date be 6.4.12? Not 6.2.12....did we go back in time? aww hell, I don't wanna relive days......

__________________Tori

Mini Goal Weight-220--MET! 01/25/16
Ultimate Goal Weight-TBD

Current Weight-218.8 (January 25, 2016)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~When life throws you curveballs, it's up to YOU to decide whether or not you swing away or go down looking. I'm choosing to swing away.